WHAT THE ERADICATION OF THE OLD MAN DOES NOT DO
The eradication of the old man does save from inbred sin. It does take out carnality -- roots, stock and branches. It does make the heart perfect in love. Man is human after he receives this most marvelous experience, and is limited to the realm of the human.
The eradication of the old man does not save us from mistakes.
"The highest perfection which man can attain, while the soul dwells in the body, does not exclude ignorance and error and a thousand other infirmities. Now from wrong judgments, wrong words and actions will often necessarily flow: and, in some cases, wrong affections also may spring from the same source. I may judge wrong of you; I may think more or less highly of you than I ought to think; and this mistake, in my judgment, may not only occasion something wrong in my behavior, but it may have a still deeper effect; it may occasion something wrong in my affections. From a wrong apprehension, I may love and esteem you either more or less than I ought. Nor can I be freed from a liableness to such a mistake while I remain in a corruptible body. A thousand infirmities, in consequence of this, will attend my spirit, till it returns to God who gave it. And, in numberless instances, it comes short of doing the will of God, as Adam did in paradise. Hence the best of men say from the heart,
'Every moment, Lord, I need
The eradication of the old man does save from inbred sin. It does take out carnality -- roots, stock and branches. It does make the heart perfect in love. Man is human after he receives this most marvelous experience, and is limited to the realm of the human.
The eradication of the old man does not save us from mistakes.
"The highest perfection which man can attain, while the soul dwells in the body, does not exclude ignorance and error and a thousand other infirmities. Now from wrong judgments, wrong words and actions will often necessarily flow: and, in some cases, wrong affections also may spring from the same source. I may judge wrong of you; I may think more or less highly of you than I ought to think; and this mistake, in my judgment, may not only occasion something wrong in my behavior, but it may have a still deeper effect; it may occasion something wrong in my affections. From a wrong apprehension, I may love and esteem you either more or less than I ought. Nor can I be freed from a liableness to such a mistake while I remain in a corruptible body. A thousand infirmities, in consequence of this, will attend my spirit, till it returns to God who gave it. And, in numberless instances, it comes short of doing the will of God, as Adam did in paradise. Hence the best of men say from the heart,
'Every moment, Lord, I need
The merit of Thy death.'
"Every man living needs the blood of atonement, or he could not stand before God."
While our hearts are made perfect in entire sanctification, our heads are still subject to the infirmities of humanity. It is only when we receive our glorified bodies that these infirmities will be removed from us. A sanctified man may make many mistakes, may err in judgment, may place wrong values on things, may do many unwise things, and still love God with all his heart.
"Hence, we cannot but infer, that there are ten thousand mistakes, which may consist with real religion; with regard to which every candid, considerate man will think and let think."
It does not save one from a nervous fear. Perfect love does cast out all fear of the judgment, it does make timid people courageous; but it does not destroy the quality of nervous fear. This is a God-given quality for our protection. A sanctified man can have extreme nervous fear when riding with a careless driver, or when exposed to sudden danger, when struck at by a rattlesnake, when in a wreck, when in a tornado, when a dog suddenly attacks, etc., etc.
"One may start, tremble, change color, or be otherwise disordered in body, while the soul is calmly stayed on God and remains in perfect peace. Nay, the mind itself may be deeply distressed, may be exceedingly sorrowful, may be perplexed and pressed down by heaviness and anguish, even to agony, while the heart is resigned to God. Was it not so with the Son of man himself? Does any child of man endure this distress, the anguish, the agony, which he sustained? And yet he 'knew no sin.'
It does not save us from infirmities and the consequences thereof.
Even sanctified souls "dwell in a shattered body, and are so pressed down thereby that they cannot always exert themselves as they would by thinking, speaking and acting precisely right. For want of better bodily organs, they must at times think, speak, or act wrong; not, indeed, through a defect of love, but through a defect of knowledge, and while this is the case, notwithstanding that defect and its consequences, they fulfill the law of love."
It does not save us from ignorance and its results. Speaking of those who are entirely sanctified, Wesley so aptly says: "They are not perfect in knowledge. They are not free from ignorance, no, nor from mistakes. We are no more to expect any living man to be infallible than to be omniscient. They are not free from infirmities; such as weakness or slowness of understanding, irregular quickness or heaviness of imagination. Such in another kind are impropriety of language, ungracefulness of pronunciation, to which one might add a thousand nameless defects either in conversation or behavior. From such infirmities as these none are perfectly freed till their spirit returns to God."
It doesn't save from the law of growth in grace. A pure heart is not necessarily mature. One receives a pure heart the second he is sanctified, but it takes time to develop maturity. A half-grown apple is all apple, but it is far from being mature. The greatest book on this subject, Wood's "Purity and Maturity," will prove a blessing in any home. Satan often troubles many when
"Every man living needs the blood of atonement, or he could not stand before God."
While our hearts are made perfect in entire sanctification, our heads are still subject to the infirmities of humanity. It is only when we receive our glorified bodies that these infirmities will be removed from us. A sanctified man may make many mistakes, may err in judgment, may place wrong values on things, may do many unwise things, and still love God with all his heart.
"Hence, we cannot but infer, that there are ten thousand mistakes, which may consist with real religion; with regard to which every candid, considerate man will think and let think."
It does not save one from a nervous fear. Perfect love does cast out all fear of the judgment, it does make timid people courageous; but it does not destroy the quality of nervous fear. This is a God-given quality for our protection. A sanctified man can have extreme nervous fear when riding with a careless driver, or when exposed to sudden danger, when struck at by a rattlesnake, when in a wreck, when in a tornado, when a dog suddenly attacks, etc., etc.
"One may start, tremble, change color, or be otherwise disordered in body, while the soul is calmly stayed on God and remains in perfect peace. Nay, the mind itself may be deeply distressed, may be exceedingly sorrowful, may be perplexed and pressed down by heaviness and anguish, even to agony, while the heart is resigned to God. Was it not so with the Son of man himself? Does any child of man endure this distress, the anguish, the agony, which he sustained? And yet he 'knew no sin.'
It does not save us from infirmities and the consequences thereof.
Even sanctified souls "dwell in a shattered body, and are so pressed down thereby that they cannot always exert themselves as they would by thinking, speaking and acting precisely right. For want of better bodily organs, they must at times think, speak, or act wrong; not, indeed, through a defect of love, but through a defect of knowledge, and while this is the case, notwithstanding that defect and its consequences, they fulfill the law of love."
It does not save us from ignorance and its results. Speaking of those who are entirely sanctified, Wesley so aptly says: "They are not perfect in knowledge. They are not free from ignorance, no, nor from mistakes. We are no more to expect any living man to be infallible than to be omniscient. They are not free from infirmities; such as weakness or slowness of understanding, irregular quickness or heaviness of imagination. Such in another kind are impropriety of language, ungracefulness of pronunciation, to which one might add a thousand nameless defects either in conversation or behavior. From such infirmities as these none are perfectly freed till their spirit returns to God."
It doesn't save from the law of growth in grace. A pure heart is not necessarily mature. One receives a pure heart the second he is sanctified, but it takes time to develop maturity. A half-grown apple is all apple, but it is far from being mature. The greatest book on this subject, Wood's "Purity and Maturity," will prove a blessing in any home. Satan often troubles many when
they are first sanctified, because they do not have the maturity of those who have been sanctified for years. The eradication of the old man greatly aids in the development of maturity.
It does not save us from our individuality. Getting sanctified does not put us in a form, and make us all alike, like men make cement blocks. There is a wonderful variety in all nature and in grace. One manifests great joy by shouting, another by laughing, another by running around, another by weeping, another by holy quietness too deep to express itself, another by a heavenly glow upon the face, etc., etc. All these have the joy and glory but manifest it in different ways. Some seem even to expect it to change the color of their hair, or cure them from being cross-eyed, or take freckles off their face, or cause their big ears to become smaller, or take the crook out of their nose, etc. This is not the realm of this great experience. It does fill the heart with perfect love. It does "beautify the meek with salvation." But we will have to put up with crooked noses, freckles, big feet, red hair, squint eyes, ponderous ears, our Irish, or Dutch or Scotch or other national make-up -- we must bear these until we get glorified bodies.
It does not save from temptation. Jesus was tempted. The servant is not above his master. We must, therefore, expect temptations as long as we are in the body. The closer our walk with God, the greater are the temptations. A holy heart is, however, a great aid in overcoming satanic attacks. As long as the old man abides in the heart, Satan has an affinity with him. It is much easier to resist temptation when this affinity is broken. It is hard for the heart to line up with the Bible as long as carnality exists. How much easier it is for a holy man to line up along the lines of finances, worldly conformity, dress, the tongue, etc., etc. The old man in the heart constantly exerts an influence contrary to the Spirit of God. The only way to stop this influence is to have him eradicated.
"The sanctified man is ready for Gethsemane with its loneliness, the judgment-seat of man with its false witnessing, and the cross with its shame and suffering. All that is needed is for Christ to lead, and he will follow."
"May we see to it that we obtain the sanctifying blood! It matters not if we are exiled to Patmos, or beheaded ecclesiastically, or cast out of the synagogue as altogether vile, -- the compensation is overwhelming for all these sufferings."
"When the heart is impure, it will be often tempted from itself; its own evil pronings will often lead it to 'bring forth actual sin,' which, if not repented of, will bring forth eternal death."
'Cruel criticisms,' and the still more cruel persecutions of 'bringing before councils,' 'imprisoning,' 'scourging,' 'torturing' and 'burning at the stake' are but the sparks struck by the wheels of the 'chariot' of the King in its ascent toward the celestial summits."
"There are evil spirits that range abroad, . . . . to whom the provinces of the world are committed:-- 'of the darkness,' chiefly the spiritual darkness; 'of this age;' which prevails during the present state of things; 'against wicked spirits;' eminently such, who mortally hate, and continually oppose holiness, and labour to infuse unbelief, pride, evil desire, malice, anger, hatred, envy or revenge.
It does not save us from our individuality. Getting sanctified does not put us in a form, and make us all alike, like men make cement blocks. There is a wonderful variety in all nature and in grace. One manifests great joy by shouting, another by laughing, another by running around, another by weeping, another by holy quietness too deep to express itself, another by a heavenly glow upon the face, etc., etc. All these have the joy and glory but manifest it in different ways. Some seem even to expect it to change the color of their hair, or cure them from being cross-eyed, or take freckles off their face, or cause their big ears to become smaller, or take the crook out of their nose, etc. This is not the realm of this great experience. It does fill the heart with perfect love. It does "beautify the meek with salvation." But we will have to put up with crooked noses, freckles, big feet, red hair, squint eyes, ponderous ears, our Irish, or Dutch or Scotch or other national make-up -- we must bear these until we get glorified bodies.
It does not save from temptation. Jesus was tempted. The servant is not above his master. We must, therefore, expect temptations as long as we are in the body. The closer our walk with God, the greater are the temptations. A holy heart is, however, a great aid in overcoming satanic attacks. As long as the old man abides in the heart, Satan has an affinity with him. It is much easier to resist temptation when this affinity is broken. It is hard for the heart to line up with the Bible as long as carnality exists. How much easier it is for a holy man to line up along the lines of finances, worldly conformity, dress, the tongue, etc., etc. The old man in the heart constantly exerts an influence contrary to the Spirit of God. The only way to stop this influence is to have him eradicated.
"The sanctified man is ready for Gethsemane with its loneliness, the judgment-seat of man with its false witnessing, and the cross with its shame and suffering. All that is needed is for Christ to lead, and he will follow."
"May we see to it that we obtain the sanctifying blood! It matters not if we are exiled to Patmos, or beheaded ecclesiastically, or cast out of the synagogue as altogether vile, -- the compensation is overwhelming for all these sufferings."
"When the heart is impure, it will be often tempted from itself; its own evil pronings will often lead it to 'bring forth actual sin,' which, if not repented of, will bring forth eternal death."
'Cruel criticisms,' and the still more cruel persecutions of 'bringing before councils,' 'imprisoning,' 'scourging,' 'torturing' and 'burning at the stake' are but the sparks struck by the wheels of the 'chariot' of the King in its ascent toward the celestial summits."
"There are evil spirits that range abroad, . . . . to whom the provinces of the world are committed:-- 'of the darkness,' chiefly the spiritual darkness; 'of this age;' which prevails during the present state of things; 'against wicked spirits;' eminently such, who mortally hate, and continually oppose holiness, and labour to infuse unbelief, pride, evil desire, malice, anger, hatred, envy or revenge.
"Thousands are lost for want of exercising moral courage against the persecutions and contempt of the world. This fear 'hath torment,' destroys usefulness, endangers the soul, . . . ."
Tempted we are, and tempted we must be. In His infinite wisdom and love, God is using temptation to strengthen the moral character of the saints. If we had our way, we would banish Satan or put him to death. God is love. He knows the way we take. When He hath taken us through His "School of Temptation," we shall come forth as His pure gold.
Temptation must come, but "if you are wise, escape for your life. Without loss of time, renounce the cause and effect together! Now, today, before the heart be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, cut off, at one stroke, that sinful friendship with the ungodly, and that sinful conformity to the world. Determine this day! Do not delay till tomorrow, lest you delay for ever. For God's sake, for your own soul's sake, fix your resolution now!"
"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Note. This, as the others, is not a complete treatise, but a suggestive study. You can develop this study along many lines.
Tempted we are, and tempted we must be. In His infinite wisdom and love, God is using temptation to strengthen the moral character of the saints. If we had our way, we would banish Satan or put him to death. God is love. He knows the way we take. When He hath taken us through His "School of Temptation," we shall come forth as His pure gold.
Temptation must come, but "if you are wise, escape for your life. Without loss of time, renounce the cause and effect together! Now, today, before the heart be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, cut off, at one stroke, that sinful friendship with the ungodly, and that sinful conformity to the world. Determine this day! Do not delay till tomorrow, lest you delay for ever. For God's sake, for your own soul's sake, fix your resolution now!"
"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Note. This, as the others, is not a complete treatise, but a suggestive study. You can develop this study along many lines.
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